Creative Name: Chewy Lu
Real Name: Caroline Bond
Social Media: IG – @thecozyexperience (cozy art) & @earth__1st (me)
Brief description of self: Climate activist strongly opposed to waste creation in all forms turned artist
Long Description of self: The name Chewy Lu, inspired by the children’s book Chewy Louie, is a nod to her constant snacking. With a BS in Environmental Resources Engineering from SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, she inspires sustainable choice-making through education, her upcycled pieces, and living by example. Chewy has taught textile upcycling techniques through Post Landfill Action Network and other workshops and sells work thru the Etsy shop named CozyFloorCoverz. TheCozyExperience has been featured in VICE, eco-gen Zine inaugural issue, District Fray, Finding Your Good and Thoughtful Flamingo Blog, and is currently hanging at Femme Fatal DC Clevland park location until December 24th.
What I create: Mostly rugs called cozyfloorcoverz out of yarn I hand cut from discarded textiles.
Project Description: Most of our relatives cut rags from clothes too worn then crocheted those rags into simple and practical rugs. The current day cozy experience is to reclaim some amount of discarded fast fashion into each cozyfloorcover.
Medium & why:Fast fashion yarn because the average person living in the DMV throws away 81lbs/yr making it an abundant resource in our landscape.
Favorite part of the creative process: Finding the materials
The most challenging part of the process: Figuring out if different yarns are compatible with one another. For example, cotton shrinks poly-blends don’t. How can I execute my vision if it still lay flat if the next owner washes it in hot water?
How creativity betters my life: We all benefit from an atmosphere with less methane (CH4) in it, which when landfilled or incinerated (along with CO2) is what clothes release into our air.
Advice to other aspiring artists: In regards to fears of criticism keeping you from sharing your work. If you wouldn’t go to them for advice you shouldn’t listen to their un-constructive feedback. Do you.
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